UPDATES

UPDATED #1, July 8, 2016: The decimation of Haiti’s agriculture is finished. Through a combination of treachery and biological warfare, Haitians have been brought to the point of complete dependency on the United States for their food. In a single year, i.e. 2014-2015, Haiti’s agricultural imports grew by 30 percent. Meanwhile, 95 percent of Haiti’s agricultural exports were reduced to four items: cocoa, coffee, mango, and lobster, mostly destined to the United States. Furthermore, these are trivial and amount only to $29.4 million worth of exports. Consequently, in 2015 alone, Haiti’s agricultural trade deficit exceeded $900 million. In effect, Haitians have become like cows that are pastured by the US and may be starved or slaughtered at whim.

Toward a drop in agricultural production in 2012

For three decades Haitian governments, together with USAID, have systematically undermined the country’s agricultural production for its domestic market so as to convert it into an enterprise at the service of export. That Haiti’s food production has lasted so long is a testament to the originalrobustness of an agricultural sector made up principally of small farmers on rented lands. Yes, the coup de grace might be a drought in the end, but climate change is not to be blamed for the damage to Haiti’s food sovereignty any more than a mite is to be blamed for the ravage to the world’s honeybees. Haiti’s oligarchs, its crooked politicians and their foreign partners deserve full credit. They have toiled at this project much too long not to take bow.

Dady Chery, Editor

By Pierre Ricardo PlacideLe Matin

Translated from the French by Dady Chery for Haiti Chery

After a 20 percent drop in Haiti’s agricultural production in 2011, the agricultural sector is under threat of a more drastic reduction to the food supply in 2012 because many parts of the country are facing a protracted and unprecedented drought. This situation could exacerbate food insecurity in the most vulnerable households. According to the National Coordination for Food Security (Coordination Nationale de la Sécurité Alimentaire, CNSA), the Departments of the North, Northeast, South, Artibonite and Central Plateau are those at greatest risk.

The drought in parts of the country may further complicate the situation for many Haitian households threatened by food insecurity, said the CNSA’s general coordinator. Agronomist Garry Matthieu believes that the drought in 2012, due to the phenomenon El Niño, could be of longer duration. Such a situation, if it persists, could have a negative impact on the food supply in various parts of the country. Therefore, agronomist Matthieu challenges the authorities to seek solutions to compensate for the potential losses and prevent an increase in the number of those living in food insecurity. [In other words, bring in more foreign imports. DC]

We recall that last year such a scenario was already envisioned while the agricultural supply was down 20 percent during the period October 2010 to May 2011, after the severe drought prevailing in several regions the country. And the Departments of the North, Northeast, Artibonite and Central Plateau were those most affected. This had the immediate effect of reducing the harvests in these regions.

In 2012, it is almost the same areas that are threatened. The case of the Northeast, according to the CNSA, deserves special attention, since this Department has not received good rains since November 2010: a situation that has caused crop losses in January and February 2012 and is likely to jeopardize the spring growing season, thus throwing the poor into a situation even more precarious than before.

According to the CNSA, in the Northwest the most endangered foods are maize, sorghum and beans. Harvests are almost zero when they should represent nearly 40 percent of the annual production in the area. Apart from the drought in this Department, households also face a problem with the prices of certain products.

The situation is not so different for the towns in the upper Artibonite, namely Anse-Rouge, Terre-Neuve, and Gros-Morne. A prolonged drought in these municipalities had a dual effect on the crops. On one hand, according to CNSA, the drought delayed by a month the preparation of the soil and, on the other, it caused the harvest to start one month earlier. The same situation caused a loss of crops such as sorghum and pigeon peas.

The consequences of all this: the worsening employment situation in agriculture and a rise in the prices of some products, especially as the markets become poorly stocked. This is already happening in some rural markets. An intensification of food insecurity among the poorest strata of society is possible. Therefore the coordinator of the CNSA advises the responsible officials to strengthen follow up procedures and evaluate the level of the next harvest.

About Dady Chery

Dr. Dady Chery is a Haitian-born journalist, playwright, essayist, and poet. She is the author of "We Have Dared to Be Free: Haiti's Struggle Against Occupation." Her broad interests encompass science, culture, and human rights. She writes extensively about Haiti and world issues such as climate change and social justice. Her many contributions to Haitian news include the first proposal that Haiti’s cholera had been imported by the UN, and the first story describing Haiti’s mineral wealth.